SELFeats: The Healthy Pizza Recipe Everyone Will Love

I grew up in the South. From Kindergarten to middle school, I lived in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee. It's where I learned to read and write, treat others kindly, kiss boys and run (not necessarily in that order). It's also where I learned to appreciate good food – because Nashville was filled with it.

What do you think of when you think of Southern fare? Fried chicken probably. Biscuits and gravy. Pecan pie, a la mode. No surprise food south of the Mason-Dixon line has gotten a bad rap for being uniformly artery-clogging-diabetes-inducing-one-way-ticket-to-the-Cleaveland-clinic unhealthy. But in reality there's so much more to Southern cuisine than corn bread and cobbler—especially now that many chefs throughout the South are embracing all the local, seasonal food the region has to offer.

Root to Leaf, a new cookbook from Steven Satterfield, the executive chef and co-owner of Miller Union, an award-winning restaurant in Atlanta, is new Southern cooking at its best. Satterfield's dishes match big-city sophistication with down-home appeal. As the cookbook's title suggests, Satterfield's recipes are produce forward (but not strictly vegetarian) and star seasonal, locally sourced and foraged ingredients. The celebrated chef is also a proponent of using the entirety of a given plant (thus root to leaf) in the same way other chefs—April Bloomfield among them—believe in using the whole animal (nose to tail).

There were plenty of recipes I wanted to try in Root to Leaf. Some were updates on Southern classics (Skillet Cornbread, Green-Tomato Gratin, Grilled Okra with Chile Oil and Cilantro and a Pecan-Caramel Chocolate Tart) while others were just modern and mouth-watering (Grilled and Braised Radicchio, Squash Blossom Frittata and Plum Clafoutis, for example). There's a recipe for Creamed Spaghetti Squash that I can't wait to try next fall and one for Cornbread-Pecan Dressing Muffins (stuffing in a muffin—genius!) that I've earmarked for my next Thanksgiving menu.

I ended up sticking to Satterfield's Spring repertoire (it was hard, but it felt like the right decision, given the book's bent) and made a Spring Onion Pizza and Rhubarb Turnovers. The former required me to make pizza dough for the first time. (Easier than anticipated!) I used whole-wheat pastry flour, which lent the crust a nice nuttiness and practiced patience while I waited for the dough to rise and settle. For the toppings, I stuck to the recipe but subbed ramps in place of the green garlic stalks. I love ramps and so do my children because we take them foraging for them upstate. Anytime a kid gets to dig for their dinner, believe me, they'll want to taste the fruits of their labor. That was certainly the case with this pizza—I had to move fast to secure a slice for myself.

As for the rhubarb turnovers: I made them because one of my children asked for Pop-Tarts, and I wanted to show him that we could make something just as tasty (if not more!) at home. The downside: I spent an entire morning proving my point. The upside: A fight broke out between my children about who was going to get the biggest turnover. (We ended up dividing it into 3.) The batch was gone in a flash and no one has mentioned Pop-Tarts since. As a mom (and a cook) I call that success—down home style.

The kids had their treat but where was mine? Feeling some nostalgia for my old hometown, I made myself a cocktail with a bourbon named after the neighborhood where I went to school: Belle Meade. Bourbon's gone through quite the renaissance in recent years, in many ways overtaking scotch as the cool man—and girl's—drink of choice. I like my Bourbon served not neat or on the rocks, but in a refreshing cocktail made with fresh muddled raspberries, grapefruit juice and a healthy pour of that Belle Meade Bourbon. The drink brings me back to springtime in the South and reminds me of my very own, very robust roots in all things southern.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pizza dough to fit the pizza stone. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured cookie sheet or upside-down baking sheet. This will be the vessel to help transfer the pizza to the hot stone. Scatter the onion, leek, garlic, and scallions evenly across the surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Place the mozzarella pieces randomly across the pizza with space in between them. Sprinkle the oregano, marjoram, and thyme over the pizza. Drizzle the pizza lightly with olive oil.

With a long, wide spatula, transfer the pizza carefully onto the hot stone. If grilling, close the lid to the grill. Let cook 10 to 15 minutes until the dough is fully cooked and crispy on the edges and the toppings are beginning to lightly brown. Cooking time will vary, depending on your grill or oven and the thickness of the crust. If baking in the oven, and the dough is done but the toppings are not, turn on the broiler to finish baking.

When the pizza is ready, remove with a long, wide spatula, and transfer back to the cookie sheet or upside-down baking sheet to cool slightly. Slice the pizza and garnish with fresh parsley.

Pizza Dough

One 9-inch pie crust

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/4cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for work surface

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

To prepare dough: Place the cut butter in the freezer to chill. Meanwhile, in a mix­ing bowl, combine the 1 1/4cups flour, salt, and sugar. Get some ice water ready. Add the chilled butter to the mixing bowl and, with both hands, rub the diced butter between your fingers through the flour until the texture resembles coarse meal, with some pea-size chunks of butter remaining. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water into the flour mixture and mix with a large spoon or spatula until the dough just comes together. On a floured surface, turn out the dough and pat gently into a disk. Lightly coat the top surface with flour, cover the disk in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour before rolling out. The dough can be stored refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 6 months.

To blind-bake a single crust: Roll between 2 sheets of parchment to a 14-inch circle. Place the dough and parchment in the freezer for 5 minutes, then peel the top sheet of parchment off the dough. Invert and center over a 9-inch pie pan; remove the second sheet of the parchment and gently ease the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Crimp the edges. Freeze for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350°F. Remove the crust from the freezer. Line with a fresh sheet of parchment. Fill with a layer of pie weights or dried beans, making sure they fit snugly against the sides. Bake until the crust is set, about 20 minutes. Gently remove the parchment and weights and return the pan to the oven to bake until the crust is lightly browned, approximately 10 more minutes. Remove and let cool.

In a wide skillet, combine the rhubarb, salt, and nutmeg. Stir in 1 cup sugar and let rest for 10 minutes. Turn the burner on to medium heat and cook the rhubarb until the juices are released, about 5 minutes. Remove the rhubarb from the pan with a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate, and cool in the refrigerator. Continue to cook the remaining liquid until reduced to a syrupy glaze. Let the glaze cool. Return the strained, cooled rhubarb to the cooled glaze and toss to coat. Return the rhubarb mixture to the refrigerator.

Remove the turnover dough from refrigerator. On a clean, floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a small plate, bowl, or saucer as a guide, cut out 6-inch circles of dough. Lay each circle on parchment paper, stack the circles, and refrigerate to keep the dough cold.

Heat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon water; set aside. Remove the dough circles from the refrigerator and transfer them to a parchment-lined cookie sheet or baking sheet. Spoon ¼ cup of the rhubarb mixture onto one half of each dough circle, leaving 1/2 inch of space around the edge. Fold the dough over the rhubarb so the edges meet, and crimp the edges with a fork. Brush the top of the turnover with the egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Cut thin slits in the top of the dough over the rhubarb with the tip of a paring knife to let steam escape.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven until the dough is crisp and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. If desired, serve each turnover with 1/2 cup Lemon Buttermilk Ice (below).

Lemon Buttermilk Ice

7 cups

3 cups buttermilk, preferably full fat

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Pinch kosher salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, cream, sugar, lemon zest and juice, and salt until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into a 9 x 13-inch pan. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours, scraping with a fork several times during freezing. When fully frozen and ready to serve, scrape one more time right before serving. (If the scraping gets away from you and the mixture freezes solid, scoop into a food processor in batches and process until smooth, adding a little more buttermilk if necessary.)